Tesla’s Cybercab Monthly Fee Could Fall From $299 to $115

Image: Tesla, Inc.

Tesla has only just opened Cybercab orders to its first personal buyers, and Elon Musk already thinks the monthly bill is too high.

The CEO says the required US$299 subscription should be closer to US$115 a month. That would knock US$184 off the monthly cost, or US$2,208 over a year, if Tesla follows through.

Musk made the comment in a reply to tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, better known as MKBHD, who had posted the details of his invitation to buy a Cybercab.

“But the monthly fee is too high,” Musk wrote, saying it should match the cost of FSD and connectivity on Tesla’s other models, or “more like ~$115/month.” He also said Cybercab would become available nationwide as Tesla receives regulatory approval.

There is no start date for a lower fee, and Musk’s comment does not mean Tesla has already changed its order terms. US$299 is the subscription price announced with the first invitations. His nationwide comment refers to a wider U.S. rollout, not confirmed Canadian availability.

As we reported when Tesla revealed its first personal-buyer pricing, Cybercab carries an estimated US$29,990 purchase price, with a US$1,000 non-refundable deposit and December deliveries estimated for the initial Texas rollout. Ordering is invite-only, and the vehicles are restricted to existing operating areas.

The monthly charge matters because Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals. Owners cannot simply cancel the autonomy subscription and drive it themselves. Tesla’s subscription terms are worth reading alongside the vehicle price. Musk has not explained whether a roughly US$115 plan would keep all the benefits included with the original US$299 subscription.

What about MKBHD’s Cybercab bet?

The exchange has also brought Brownlee’s head-shaving bet back into the conversation. Following Cybercab’s 2024 unveiling, he pledged to shave his head on camera if Tesla delivered on its roughly US$30,000 vehicle promise before 2027.

In his latest clarification, Brownlee described the test as public availability for under US$30,000 by the end of 2026. He says the first order invitations do not settle it: customer deliveries have not happened yet, and ordering is still invite-only.

He also criticized the restrictions on private use and existing geofenced areas, but explicitly said that point was not part of the bet. Those operating limits should not be confused with the terms of his wager.

Some users replying to Brownlee have accused him of “moving the goalposts,” arguing that an invite-only rollout to individual buyers can still count as public availability. Others say a customer delivery before year-end should settle the bet. Those are their interpretations of the wager; Brownlee maintains that public availability is part of it, while acknowledging that geofencing is not.

Brownlee added in a follow-up reply that he plans to donate on January 1 either way. For now, Tesla has opened orders and estimated deliveries, rather than announced completed customer handovers. There is still time left before the end-of-year deadline.

For prospective owners, the more immediate question is what Tesla will actually charge when deliveries begin. A US$115 monthly fee would make Cybercab considerably cheaper to keep on the road, but buyers still need the final terms, approved operating areas and delivery date to line up.